Kitty’s Wildlife Refuge and Rescue at risk of losing rescued ravens

The owner of Wildlife Refuge in Sky Valley, Kitty Pallsen, has recently ran into problems with Fish and Wildlife.

Pallsen has been running her 5-acre, wildlife refuge and rescue for the past 28 years.

She tells me she's rescued a variety of animals from dogs to injured birds.

Pallsen has built an aviary specifically for ravens that can't be released back into their natural habitat because of their injuries.

She tells me that on Tuesday, officials from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife showed up at her sanctuary to confiscate her rescued ravens.

"I asked him to peacefully leave my property. Because I was not going to let them confiscate. They refused to leave. I had to call the sheriff's department to come here and escort the Fish and Wildlife wardens off of my property," says Pallsen.

Pallsen tells News Channel 3, she received her first citation back in January, and started to undergo the permit process. According to Pallsen, the Fish and Wildlife Department is denying her the permits because she had to apply for the permits before owning the birds.

“I could be facing fines up to ten thousand dollars each, and he told me that I will be prosecuted for animal cruelty, if I do anything to save their life between now and Friday," says Pallsen.

I reached out the department of California Fish and Wildlife, Captain Patrick Foy shared in a statement to News Channel 3, "It is very much an active investigation and we can not provide any level of detail. I can however make it very clear that we were lawfully on Ms. Pallsen's property at the time of inspection yesterday when we found her in presumably unlawful possessions of restricted species."

Pallsen says she's willing to go through the court system in order to fight to keep her birds, "I want my community to know we need these organizations working with us and for the animals, not against us and against the animals."

The endangered birds have lived in the refuge for a decade without any problems.

Pallsen has contacted Riverside County Sheriff Department for assistance.

Back in 2018, a boy scout troop was helped renovate the sanctuary during Earth Day weekend.

You can learn more about the project on the 5-acre refuge here.